Heart of Glass
by Starletta
Summary: Takes place in SK. Rose begins to realize her feelings for Adrian as a new girl arrives at the Academy with more intentions than meets the eye. Sometimes, danger can lurk within the Academy rather than outside of the wards... I DON'T OWN VAMPIRE ACADEMY
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

I was escorting Lissa (even though I was suppose to escort Christian) to go feed when we both first saw her. She was about my height-maybe shorter- and had the undeniable beauty of a Moroi. She had golden brown hair, the signature Moroi paleness- maybe even paler- and had steel blue eyes. I'd never seen her before; she was probably the new student I've heard about from Dimitri. According to Dimitri, however, _she_ was a guy. I guess even the strictest instructors make, well, obvious mistakes.

"Hey! You must be Roxanne Bridges," Lissa said as she tugged my arm over to the girl.

"Yes, I am. Do I know you? I don't think I've ever met you." Confusion flickered in Roxanne's eyes.

"No… I just heard about you from someone." Suddenly, Lissa blushed pink. I rolled my eyes. Last night, Lissa and Christian were randomly chatting during…their usual thing…and the topic of Roxanne's new arrival had come up. Christian had mentioned that she was also a _guy. _The almost repulsive images of their lovey-dovey moments flashed into my head. Stupid, damn bond.

"I'm Vasilisa- you can call me Lissa. This is my best friend, Rose," Lissa said as she held out her hand.

Roxanne stared at Lissa and then at me and hesitated, but took her hand.

"Well, I hope we'll see each other later." I could feel Lissa's hunger rumbling in her throat.

"Yeah. See you around." Roxanne turned around and walked away.

I turned away as Lissa had her daily fill. This time her feeder was a girl who looked a bit older than us. I imagined the girl's eyes closing as the endorphins rushed through her. I could still remember the pleasant feeling a vampire's bite was. After Lissa had finished, I walked with her to class and met up with Christian. Oh, joy. Another day to be spent on Christian.

Today in Christian's culinary science class, they had to make rose hip jam, something I've never even heard of before. Since when did human beings make jam out of _flowers_? At least _normal _human beings, as far as I'm concerned, didn't. I guess I can probably get something out of this class after all. Christian seemed to have read my mind.

"Rose, rose hip jam is made from rose hips, not the rose flower." Christian said as he focused in on boiling the pot of water.

"No shit, Sherlock. I didn't think roses could show off their beauty better than the red, but no… the hips as well," I said and smiled at my little pun.

Christian measured the rose hips in a large measuring cup. "I think four quarts will do." I glanced curiously at the little rose hip. They looked like small red head-of-a-rod thingies. I couldn't see a way for them to be turned into jam unless someone used their fists or something. My own fist twitched at its call.

"So, have you seen the new girl?"

Christian dumped the four quarts of rose hips into the boiling water. "No, but I've heard about her. Why?"

"Nothing in particular. Just curious."

"You're always curious, Rose."

After my training with Dimitri, I spotted Adrian by a tree. He was smoking his clove cigarettes, again, and staring into space. I walked up to him and lightly punched him in the ribs.

"Rose." Adrian seemed startled and gave me one of his rare surprised moments.

"What's up? You seem spooked. Like I'm a ghost or something."

"No way! You'll always be my little dhampir." Adrian's usualness came upon his face.

I raised an eyebrow. "_Your_ little dhampir?"

Adrian looked surprised again. Twice in a day- that's a new record. This time I kind of understood why he was surprised. He and I were both pretty much used to his use of words that indicated that _I_ was his. Today I felt strangely refreshed, like I've just had a full-body message and a full-blast steam treatment at the spa; I couldn't help but to be a bit more sensitive than usual about Adrian's word choice.

"You know what I mean." Adrian regained his confidence and flashed a wide smile, exposing his fang.

"How long do you plan to stay here?"

Adrian paused and looked thoughtful. "As long as you stay."

I sighed. "Adrian, you're hot. There's no doubt about that, but-"

"Rosemarie Hathaway just said _what_?" Adrian's eyes were wide and shone with pride.

I almost threw up my arms in exasperation. "Look, Adrian, you shouldn't waste such flattery on me. I don't deserve it. Besides, you can probably get any girl out there with your looks and money and status, for crying out loud. And besides, the queen's going to have my head one of these days if she finds out you like me."

Adrian looked genuinely hurt. "You think I'm _flattering_ you?

"Well-" I bit my lip. I didn't realize how serious he took my words. "I don't know. You seem so-" I heard someone clear their throat quietly and realized just how close Adrian and I were standing.

"Rose, I need you to come with me! We need some girl time." Lissa's voice was saturated with excitement.

"Now?" I can't believe what perfect timing this was. I needed a break from Adrian to think.

"I'll catch you later, Rose," Adrian said. He gave a slight smile, probably still hurt by my insensitive words.

Wow, I can really be a mean bitch sometimes.

I got to admit: vampires sure know how to pamper themselves. Lissa got permission from Kirova to go out tonight with me. There was one catch- not necessarily a bad catch- we had to bring Dimitri along. According to Lissa, Dimitri was just there for precautious protection, but we are going to feel like we're alone with all the shopping and girl stuff we've got to do.

When we got there, Lissa wanted to shop at some fancy jewelry store.

"What do you plan to get there?" I asked curiously.

"_We_ are getting the good old-fashion friendship bracelets," Lissa answered with a bright smile.

"Lissa, as much as I appreciate your many gifts to me, I'm probably going to lose the bracelet after just one training session."

"That's okay. You don't have to wear it during your training. I just want you to have it."

I sighed. Man, it really pays off being a royal princess doesn't it? Especially since the queen is particularly found of you.

"How do you like these?" Lissa held up a pair of gold charm bracelets. The glare from the reflective gold blinded me from a second.

"They're cool. I like the gold- it's kind of like your hair."

Lissa reflexively touched her hair.

"You know, its color does kind of look like her hair." The voice hadn't come from Dimitri.

Lissa and I whipped our heads around. Adrian came towards us.

"Adrian, what the hell are you doing here?" I was surprised by my own worried feelings that came out as almost a growl and immediately regretted it; Adrian looked a bit faltered.

"What's with the tone of hostility?" Adrian asked sincerely.

"I don't think she was trying to hostile. I think she was just really concerned about the fact that you're here in a public place," Dimitri answered for me. His voice sounded slightly grim.

"What's wrong with me being in a public place?" Adrian asked innocently.

"Do you could've been hurt by a Strigoi!" Dimitri and I said in unison.

Adrian looked stunned. "If I'm not wanted here… then I guess I'll just-"

"Are you crazy? Do you really want a Strigoi to get you? Since you're here, you'll just come with us." I grabbed his arm and pulled him along. I could just imagine Adrian's lips curving up into an amused and smartassy smile; his reverse psychology had worked.

Lissa bought the two bracelets and the small gold chain now dangled on my left wrist. The words, _Please Return to Tiffany & Co._, had been engraved on one side of the heart charm. The other side said, _Best_, which would mean that Lissa got the _Friends_ bracelet. Leave it to Lissa to go buy expensive things. Next, we went into a small vintage dress boutique, where Lissa wanted to buy a few sundresses. As we entered the store, I couldn't help but to notice that the clerk behind the counter was staring at Lissa as if she was the main course of a five-star meal. _Strigoi_ was the first thing I thought, but as I took a closer look at his eyes, I noticed that they were hazel, not the crimson red Strigoi had. Lissa seemed to have sensed my relief.

"Is something the matter?"

"No," I answered briskly. I walked to where Dimitri was. "Is it possible for the redness of a Strigoi's eyes to change when a Strigoi is wearing contacts?

Dimitri looked up from the floral sash he was examining. "I suppose… why?"

"The guy behind the counter," I whispered.

"We'll keep our eyes open, then." Dimitri whispered back calmly. "Stand close to Lissa. I'll watch Adrian."

Was there a double meaning behind him watching Adrian?

I shrugged it off and walked over to Lissa, who was holding up two dresses and comparing them.

"Oh, Rose. I can't figure out which one I should get. I really like them both." Lissa looked at me with pleading eyes, waiting for my deciding call.

I looked at the first one- it was a classic jade green chiffon sundress with ruffles that flared out the bottom and a periwinkle blue rosette at the waist. The second one was a fairytail-ish white dress with a pink satin ribbon tied at the waist with a bow at the back. I stared. Both seemed very Lissa; the green dress would play up her green eyes and the white dress would play up her sweet personality. I mentally weighed the options.

"If you like both of them so much, why not just buy both of them?" I said it because it was true. Both would look amazing on her slim body.

"You're right! I will get both of them. I do have extra money…. What are you getting?"

"I don't know. I'm not sure if I'm getting a dress." I didn't have any money and didn't want to worry her with the Stigoi possibility.

Suddenly Lissa held up a dress. "Rose. This. Will. Look. Absolutely. Beautiful. On. You!" Lissa pronounced each word separately. "Go on! Try it on! I'm so getting you this."

I opened my mouth to protest, but Lissa, using all of her Moroi strength she could muster pushed me into one of the dressing stalls and yanked the curtain closed. All this meant for me was that I had to change-fast. The dress she handed me was a pale rose color with really girly ruffled straps. I've really had enough of rose for the day. Oh well, if this makes Lissa happy, then what the hell. Just as I was about to zip up the side of the dress, I heard Lissa's scream and dashed out.

I spotted Lissa right away. She was trapped in a corner by a very pale tall guy- a Strigoi by the looks of it. I launched myself onto the guy. I tackled him into the wall, where some glass vases were on display. The glass shattered when the guy hit the wall hard and a piece flew at my arm and gave it a nasty cut. That was going to sting later. My hand flew at my pockets, searching for my silver stake.

"Shit!" I left it inside the clothes I came here in. There wasn't time to retrieve it. I guess the only way now is to beat the Strigoi unconscious. I raised my fist and bashed the Strigoi's head into the wall, creating a large dent. The Strigoi suddenly shoved me off and sent me flying into a rake of dresses. I felt something warm and wet at the back of my head. Usually not a good sign. The Strigoi was flying at me with a headlong charge. The guy sure knows how to _usefully_ use his head, doesn't he? He must be a young, inexperienced Strigoi to have such an open, straightforward attack like that. I quickly dodged out of his way, cursing at myself for not having my stake with me; I could've split the guys head open if I had one when he ran head first at me. Too bad. The Strigoi quickly recovered and lunged at me again. I evaded his strike and send a strong kick to his gut, followed by a pound on the head. Once, twice, a third time I struck the Strigoi's head. Damn, the guy wasn't losing his conscious.

"Rose!" Dimitri's voice. "Catch!"

A shiny stake flew at me. I caught it neatly and spun around to face my Strigoi. He was writhing in pain from his head blows. I gave him another good kick in the ribs and straddled him, pinning him on the floor. I grasped the stake with all my might and aimed it at the Strigoi's heart. Just as I was going to bring down the stake at the heavily battered Strigoi, with my peripheral vision, I saw a third Strigoi came in at Lissa. My heart sank- there's no possible way for me to reach Lissa. Suddenly, the third Strigoi collapsed. Behind the collapsed Strigoi, I saw Roxanne.

What was she doing here? Did she do that to the Strigoi? Wait a second, since when did Moroi get the ability to telepathically kill someone? I halted. _Spirit_, of course, stupid. Could spirit actually kill someone? Lissa's never told me about this before.

"Thanks, Roxanne," Lissa said gratefully.

Roxanne nodded at Lissa and began to walk away.

"Wait!" I caught her shoulder. "What are you doing here?"

Roxanne stared at me. "I'm like you. Here to shop and stuff."

"Don't you know you can't be in public places like this without at least one guardian?" I almost shouted in disbelief. Did _anyone_ know the rules?

Roxanne flinched.

I am being really harsh today, aren't I?

"I'm sorry. I-I-I didn't know that…." Her words faded away.

"Just remember to not do this next time, okay?" I tried my best to give her a sympathetic look. "Since you're here, why don't you come with us?"

Roxanne's eyes suddenly lit up like a Christmas tree. "I'd love to!"

I wanted to ask how she killed that Stigoi. I wanted to ask her if she used spirit.

It looks like Dimitri finished of two other Strigoi without getting a single scratch. Adrian didn't seem to be injured either.

"Guys, this is Roxanne. She's new to St. Vlad's."

Dimitri held out his hand. Roxanne didn't hesitate this time to shake.

"Roxanne, this is Dimitri and Adrian."

Suddenly, Roxanne tackled Adrian. Or rather, she hugged him really tight. Adrian's expression looked so funny, I almost giggled. When Roxanne finally let him go, she beamed at him.

"You must be Adrian Ivashkov! The queen's told me much about you!"

Did she bump her head or something? She was all quiet a second again, but now she's all ecstatic over Adrian.

"How do you know my great-aunt?" Adrian still looked staggered. I guess he doesn't appreciate every girl's company.

"She's a family friend."

"What family are you from?" Adrian's voice sounded authorized.

"The Bridges family."

Adrian looked confused. I guess he thought that she was from a royal family.

"My grandmother was an old colleague of your great-aunt."

"Oh." Adrian seemed to be pondering.

"Is everyone okay?" Dimitri asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Lissa answered.

"We should probably get back, now, and report this to the other guardians." Dimitri dumped the last of the glass shards into the trash.

Just as I was getting up to go get my clothes from the fitting room stall, Adrian took one long look of approval and chuckled at me.

"Nice view, Rose." Now he was laughing.

I just realized that my dress was half-zipped. I glowered and scowled at him.

When we got back to St. Vladimir, dinner had already passed. Lissa already had her daily feed and I didn't feel so hungry so I skipped dinner and headed towards Christian's room. Surprisingly, Christian was already asleep. I decided not to wake him up this time. Too late.

"Rose, will you explain where you and Lissa have been the past four five hours?" Christian sat up and glared at me as if I _stole_ Lissa away from him or something.

"Lissa, Dimitri, and I went shopping, that's all."

Christian seemed to be less tense. "Why wasn't I invited?"

"Lissa wanted girl time," I answered innocently.

"Oh." Christian looked away.

I hope I didn't just give Christian the wrong idea.

Christian shrank back under his blankets and mumbled his goodnight. I mumbled back mine.

The next morning, as I was escorting Christian to his culinary science class, I caught a glimpse of Adrian and Roxanne talking. They were sitting in a rather intimate position. Seriously, get a room. Then, I flinched at my own thoughts. This didn't happen everyday. Christian seemed to have noticed too.

"What's got you scared, Rose?" Christian smirked at me.

"I'm _not_ scared!" I snapped back.

"Okay, no need for harsh words."

I mentally kicked myself for being so worked up over Adrian and his flirtatious personality. Did he and Roxanne get together after Roxanne's bold action? Oh, who the hell gives a shit?

"Hey, are Ivashkov and Bridges hooking up?"

"Christian, shut up."

"Hey, just asking."

"Don't bother to ask, then." I glared at him.

Christian looked confused for a second, but then something occurred over him. "Is this jealousy I sense coming out of you, Rose?"

"Is it, Rose?"

I turned my head around. That was Adrian. He came over with Roxanne while I was restraining myself from yelling at Christian.

"Is what?" Better to pretend that I didn't have any idea what the hell he was talking about than to answer.

"Is it jealousy, Rose?" Adrian asked softly.

"Well, I think I'll leave you lovebirds alone."

Christian, you sick bastard. Just as he was about to make a run for it, I grabbed his arm and dragged him towards his class. Screw you to hell, Christian.

"Christian, what the hell was that?" He really knows how to piss me off.

"What do you mean?"

Oh, so now _he's_ playing innocent? Two can play at that game.

"You know what I mean." I shook out my hair to hide my reddening face.

"Oh, you mean the 'lovebirds' part." Christian smirked wickedly at me.

Go shrivel up and die, Christian. Even though I feel slightly embarrassed, I wasn't about to let Christian know.

"Adrian and I aren't in love with each other, got it?"

Christian chuckled. "You guys are so obviously in love its actually funny seeing how you deny it."

My eyes shot sparks at him. "That's bullshit."

"That's bulltruth."

I turned around and faced him straight on. "What gave you this unimaginable idea? Sure it's obvious that Adrian's into me, but he's only like that because he wants to get me to sleep with him. That part is so obvious, it's almost repulsive." I screwed my face up in disgust.

Christian gave me an amused look.

Oops. I said too much. Apparently, by the look on Christian's face, he was stupid enough to not figure the part about Adrian wanting to sleep with me out.

"How could you not notice that? He's not really the type of guy that's serious."

"Rose, actually I think Adrian really does like you. Not in the way you think."

I frowned. "Did Lissa tell you about this?"

Christian shrugged. "It might've slip out of her."

In that case, I guess I can't really do anything, could I? Lissa wouldn't sabotage me on purpose like this. No, she would never sabotage me.

I swallowed my pride and asked, "What exactly did Lissa say?

Christian smiled complacently. I glared back.

"She said something about you not noticing Adrian's affection towards you."

I blinked. "Did she say how she knows…?"

Christian paused and thought about it. "No, she didn't, but you can kind of tell."

"How?" I know how clueless I sound, but Christian just couldn't get to the point, could he?

"Rose, why don't you ask him yourself?" There was no irritation in Christian's eyes- it was more like brotherly concern.

"That doesn't seem like a bad idea."

Christian and I were late to class. After the old hag (the teacher who I refuse to refer to with her proper name) gave us a stern lecture about being on class on time and blah blah blah, I noticed that Roxanne had joined this class. She seemed to be really into learning how to make strawberry meringues, the dish of the day.

"Rose, as punishment for not making sure Christian was in class on time, you'll make each class' dish everyday for a week, starting with today's strawberry meringues."

I stared in disbelief at the wrinkled devil standing in front of me. Christian elbowed me to keep my mouth shut; he knew me too well. As soon as the bitch walked away, I stuck my tongue out at her, despite feeling like a first grader. Christian bit back a laugh.

After class, I successfully made my first meringues without any explosions or fire and other potential cooking disasters. Inside my little sac with the rose ribbon (complements of Christian), were my perfectly made pinkish meringues dotted with specks of strawberry. Even though I was supposed to make them by myself as punishment, I didn't plan to listen to the old bitch. I made the batter and Christian shaped the meringues with a fancy meringue-shaper tool. The results were, as I said, perfectly shaped meringues with the curl at the top. Unfortunately, I didn't exactly like meringues- they were too sweet for me. I decided to take them to Adrian since I needed a casual reason for going to his dorm and asking him about what Christian said. I knocked against the elaborate French door. Adrian answered the door after my second knock.

"Hey, Rose. Come in."

I frowned. "No 'little dhampir' today?"

"Do you prefer it?" Adrian leaned towards me.

I caught a whiff of his scent. He was wearing some kind of cologne- slightly spicy and fresh. His eyes were gorgeously green as usual, his hair was damp and tousled and he was wearing an unbuttoned white button down with jeans. I gotta admit Adrian did look sexy. Having caught off guard, I just shrugged.

"Little dhampir it is, then." Adrian smiled at me.

I looked around the dorm. As usual, bottles of alcohol- both empty and unopened- were scattered across the room. No smell of clove cigarettes today, though. I never noticed this because of the scent of his cigarettes, but his room actually seemed really nice.

"Is that for me?"

"Yeah… I don't really like meringues. And Christian wouldn't let me throw these away."

Adrian broke into a dazzling smile, exposing his fangs. "Meringues are my favorite. They have a certain sweetness to them. I love the way they kind of melt in your mouth when you take a bite into one. Just like the way my heart does for you." Adrian's eyes grew soft and his voice had traces of desire and sweetness.

I blushed pink.

Adrian came over and sat next to me on the leather loveseat. The _loveseat_. Could this situation get anymore cliché?

"I have a question."

"What is it?" Adrian looked earnest.

I made a promise to myself that I'd say this straightforwardly. "What's the reason for you being so… affectionate towards me?

Adrian seemed calm.

Good. I didn't offend him like the last time.

"That's because I love you, Rose."

My heart pounded in my chest.

"I thought you were… nice to me because you were… well…." I bit my lip. This was going to be harder than I'd thought.

Adrian still looked sincere and willing to listen. Then, he held my hand in his own. "You thought I just wanted to sleep with you. I did and I still do, but Rose, I really do love you.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

I stared at Adrian's face for a long time. A really long time. Lissa had been right. _Christian_ had been right. Despite Adrian's own words, I still didn't fully believe this. Adrian _Ivashkov_ loves me? Now there's an unlikely thought. I continued to stare into those mesmerizing emerald eyes. I felt warmth radiating around me, wrapped around me so soft and cozy like a wool blanket by the fireplace in winter. Wait, can't forget the cup of hot chocolate cupped in my hands either…. Then I snapped out of it.

"Why did you just use compulsion on me?" I demanded. Personally, I didn't see the point of using compulsion at that exact moment.

"Rose," Adrian began slowly. "You looked like you were about to faint."

"So? How was compulsion suppose to help?" I knew the answer already, but I was trying to stay away from the subject that was just very recently proven true.

"I thought you could use some warmth to calm down." Adrian looked genuinely concerned for me.

How is it that even _Christian_ got Adrian's message before I did? Not that it was true, or anything….

"Uh… thanks."

A long and awkward silence loomed over us. I stared down at the creamy white leather of the loveseat. I could feel Adrian's eyes on me. I know for sure that I enjoy Adrian's company. A lot. His cocky and yet strangely considerate attitude paired up well with the badass side of me, a side not many people could tolerate. I remember the first time I met Adrian- back in Christmas vacation at the ski lodge resort- that I'd enjoyed his presence, even though he'd be engulfed in clove cigarette and alcoholic fumes. He had a… calming effect that created the right amount of annoyance to distract me from my other major problems like my love life. It's weird, but true. This attraction I had with Adrian was different with Dimitri. With Dimitri, it was all about fire. With Adrian, it was more like sparks. However, with Dimitri, it's an impossible relationship as oppose to a closer-to-possible relationship with Adrian. Dimitri and I both have top priorities to protect Lissa- I can't ever deny that. If we had a romantic relationship, our duties as guardians to Lissa might falter one day when either of us are in danger. Even though I liked being around Adrian, I'm not so sure that I _loved_ him. Liking him as a friend was probably as close to romantic feelings for Adrian as I'd get. That was what I'd thought at first, anyway.

"Adrian, I don't really know how I feel about you," I confessed, shocked by my own confession.

Adrian looked surprised. "Rose, to me those words are a blessing."

I looked up at his eyes, trying to comprehend him. "You're not disappointed?"

To my surprise, Adrian laughed.

"Rose, if I even made you confused of your own feelings, that's one big step forward. I'm even fine with dying right now after hearing those words from an angel. Did you forget how you usually treated me a few days ago?"

I said nothing. My brain and heart really is confused. It's like the whole _I like him, but I don't_ thing. Maybe I should grab a daisy while I'm at it and start reciting _he likes me, he likes me not_.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door that interrupted my thoughts.

"Hello?"

A girl's voice.

"Adrian, are you there?"

Roxanne's voice. I grinded my teeth.

"Adrian?"

"God. What's she doing here?" Adrian sounded desperate all of a sudden.

Maybe desperate to hide from Roxanne? My hopes and I go way back.

Adrian got up and whispered to me, "I'm not here and you're here to… you can decide on your answer." Then he went into his bedroom, locking the door behind him.

I grimaced. Hang on, I'm Rose Hathaway. I can get away with this little thing. But seriously, what the hell am I suppose to say? I reached for the door and reluctantly turned the doorknob. As soon as the click the doorknob sounded out, Roxanne burst into the room. She looked around the room a couple of times before looking at me for the first time.

"What are you doing here, Rose?" Roxanne's eyes narrowed.

Uh-oh. She sounded and looked suspicious.

"I am here… to lecture him on behalf of Kirova about the rules of St. Vladimir since he has a hard time understanding that the rules here even applied to royals no matter how conceited they are." The lies came out easy now. It's a good thing Roxanne is new and haven't seemed to figure out my badass reputation at the academy because I'd never do a favor for Kirova- not even if you throw me to the fiery pits of the underworld.

"Is he not here?" Roxanne seemed extremely disappointed.

"Do you see him?"

"If you do, will you give this to him?' Roxanne handed me a fancy gift-wrapped box with an envelope..

Is today Adrian's birthday or something? I took the box and weighed it in my hand. The box felt pretty heavy.

"Thanks… Rose, are you sure he's not just avoiding me?"

I froze. Has Roxanne figured it out?

"No, of course not. Should he have a reason to be?" I tried my best not to smirk at her for the truth behind that and answered with my most honest face, hoping she would buy it.

"I guess not. He's just never there when I go to see him. I guess I'll go. See you, Rose."

I stared at her in astonishment as her words sank in. Just how many times had she tried to get Adrian alone and for what reason? The soft sound of an opening door disturbed my thoughts.

"That was interesting," said Adrian, even though he barely sounded interested. Looks like his sarcastic side is now dominant.

"Yeah," I agreed. _I_, however, did think that conversation was interesting. What was inside the little box in my hand?

"It's probably some expensive cigars or something." Adrian seemed to have read my mind. "The letter is probably a love letter."

"I love letter?" I echoed.

"Yeah."

So she's in love with Adrian? I hadn't thought that she would go all Shakespeare with the love at first sight crap.

"She's been following me around- it's not like I don't notice her. Apparently, I bare great resemblance to her dead boyfriend," Adrian said coldly.

"She didn't actually _tell_ you this, did she? Or was she desperate enough to make up a story to gain some sympathy… not that you have any."

Adrian looked amused. "She's telling the truth."

"How…?"

"In dreams, my little dhampir."

"You _visited_ her in your dream?" I was surprised at my own tone; Adrian noticed this as well and took advantage of this situation."

"Are you jealous?"

I gaped at him, my jaw dropped to the ground "I'm-"

Before I could protest, Adrian said, "Worry not, my little dhampir, you'll always be the only one for me. Going to hell is a better option than loving anyone else but you."

I worried a little at his words. Adrian is the type of stubborn guy that's use to getting what he wants since he's a rich Moroi royal. He could turn insane- not that he wasn't already- and become suicidal if I can't become his. I thought about this. I would never wish death upon anyone, but Adrian has pissed me off till I'm ready to kill him before. "I'm confused. If she didn't tell you about her past, did you see her with her dead boyfriend in her dreams?"

"Precisely."

"Adrian, isn't that kind of private? You looking into her dream is enough of a privacy invasion, but to eavesdrop on her _dead_ boyfriend is plain rude."

"Since when do you lecture other people about rudeness?"

"Since now."

"It's not like I actually did that," Adrian breathed.

"I'm confused." What did Adrian mean?

"I'm actually confused, too. I was about to visit you in my dreams," Adrian paused to watch my expression as my mouth twitched, threatening to protest. "But then I somehow got sucked into hers and I _overheard_ her talking to Cameron."

"That's _very_ believable, Adrian."

"You don't have to believe me."

I couldn't contain my curiosity anymore. "What did she say to him?"

"I thought you said my story wasn't believable."

"If it's not true, you wouldn't be able to think of anything more since you don't have any cigarettes to smoke while thinking about what to say for the next part of the story."

"Rose, you're so goddamn funny with your assumptions of my bad habits," Adrian mused.

"It's true," I pointed out.

"One thing that creeped me out- and you know if I think something is creepy it really is- is how she was apologizing to him for killing him and for deceiving everyone."

"Adrian, your fairy tale is seriously getting sick. What happened to the good old 'happily ever after'? Are you saying Roxanne is a _murderer_?"

"I'm not sure. I'll look into it. Meanwhile," Adrian gestured to the door, "I think you should go- Vasilisa and Christian are waiting for you."

Right on cue, there was a knock on the door followed by a voice.

"Rose, you there?" Christian's voice.

"Coming!"

I started to get up, but Adrian still held my hand.

"I'll invite in if it happens again, and you'll believe my fairy tale." Adrian kissed my cheek softly and let me go. What Adrian said was really kind of creepy. If Roxanne is a killer… besides Strigoi, I'd be the only other person who can endanger people's lives.

After finishing my daily hand-to-hand combat training that took place after dinner, I escorted Christian back to his dorm. I told him I had something to take care of. Christian grumbled and went to sleep. I knew I had to be really quiet if I wanted to sneak into Dimitri's room to get the latest scoop on the Strigoi attack in Spokane we both just fought in. As I climbed the last set of stairs that leads to the corridor to the guardians' dorms, I noticed something on the window. I walked closer and saw that it was writing. It had been done in dark red- it looked and smelled like blood. _Kom med mig, min kärlek_. Was it Russian? I searched my pocket for a piece of paper or something I could write on. Lucky for me, I fished out an old, crumpled wad of gum wrapper and a cracked pen.

Oh well, better than nothing.

I carefully copied every letter onto the gum wrapper and hurried off to see Dimitri, who just might have a clue to what the message says. Besides, someone has to report this bloody message.

Dimitri was reading attentively by his desk light when I got to his dorm. Man, did he look sexy in the dim light.

When he say me he said, "Rose, what are you doing here? You should be sleeping in Christian's dorm!"

"The door was open so I invited myself in. Besides, I have something you should look at and hear about. It's urgent," I said in my most mature voice to sound serious.

"What's so urgent that you can't wait until tomorrow?"

I sighed in frustration. "Dimitri, I need to know something. Right now. It'll make my life a hell of a lot easier if you can help me with it. So please." I looked up at him with pleading eyes.

Dimitri stared at me, debating with the two sides of him. One side urged him to step up to his duties as my instructor and make me go back to sleep, while the other side- the side that yearned for me- wanted desperately to help me. Finally, side one gave in and side two dominated.

"Okay, make this quick."

I gave him my most polite smile. "Thank you." I showed him the message.

He looked at the message with pondering eyes. Was it not in Russian?

"Rose… I don't understand this."

"You… don't?"

"This isn't in Russian or Romanian."

I crinkled my eyebrows in confusion.

"What language is it, then?"

Dimitri looked at the message, again. "I'm not sure."

"Hell, if you don't know, then who will?"

"Try the library. We have a large selection of research books."

"God, I hate researching."

Dimitri stood up. "That settles things. Go back to sleep before someone else notices you."

"Wait! I have to show you the real message. There's something important about it."

I grabbed Dimitri's large hand and led him towards the message written on the window. To my surprise, the message wasn't there anymore. My hand stroked the window glass and felt nothing but cold, smooth glass. I looked at Dimitri, who looked confused and suspicious.

"I swear it was here."

"Are you sure you saw something?"

"Yes! I swear it on my life."

"Well, it's not here anymore and you should be asleep." Dimitri started to push me towards the Moroi dorms.

"Why won't you believe me?"

Dimitri looked pained. My heart jolted at his sad expression. I wish I could reach out to him and be his consolation. I could only guess what he's thinking. "It's not that I don't, it's that we have no evidence but the message so we can't really do much except look up what the words mean."

"Guess I got research to do." I started walking back to Christian's dorm. When I got back to his room, I could hear the soft sound of his snoring. I stifled a giggle as I hopped to my made-up bed of blankets.

The next day was my day off so I spent most of it researching in the Academy's library. The place was huge and I spent an hour looking for the right section. I could've just asked the librarian, Mrs. Windsor, but she was so old, she didn't look like she could move another step without hurting herself. I wasn't a believer of karma, but I still hoped that by sparing Mrs. Windsor the impossible effort to climb the ladder to get to the books, I'd be able to find what I'm looking for. Books on languages were in the 400s. I had to rule out a lot of languages with characters instead of the alphabet letters like Greek and Korean. After searching through ten books, I decided that most languages that used the alphabet or alphabet-like letters were European countries. Three more books later, I ruled out Italian, French, and Spanish since the message didn't really seem to match the tone of these languages; I studied French and a bit of Spanish before during Lissa and my great escape. Italian just didn't seem to work. Yes, I know I'm being pretty unreasonable, but if I wasn't, how much longer would this take? After skimming painstakingly through five more books, I came to a conclusion: the few fitting languages included German, Welsh, Dutch…. I decided to look up the individual words of the message with dictionaries. This process took about a thousand years. Next time I go to Spokane, I'm getting a computer. If I had a computer, I could've probably translated those words into English in a second, but instead I'm stuck in the library researching for hours. Finally, I matched up the with the word, _kärlek_, which meant _love_ in Swedish. Why was the message written in Swedish and not Russian or whatever language vampires around here usually know? Then something clicked in my head. _Vampires around here_. Could Roxanne be the one who wrote it on the window? I don't know where she comes from, but I heard from inside Lissa's head that night she and Christian… had a conversation about the new "boy" about how she was from a different country. If she did do this, what's her deal?

Adrian and I stood on a dusty countryside road that cut a vast field of wildflowers in half. In the distant, I could see a windmill spinning in the wind next to the ocean. This place looked like somewhere in Scandinavia, overlooking the Gulf of Bothnia, a place I'd studied during the time Lissa and I escaped from the Academy.

"Where are we?" I asked in a surprised tone as I realized that this place wasn't reality but a dream.

"In Roxanne's dream, of course. You didn't think we'd elope this quickly, did you?" Adrian threw me a flirty smile.

I glared back. I guess Adrian hasn't heard that he was to marry Lissa on the queen's command.

"Where's Roxanne?"

"She's… probably around." Adrian surveyed the land. Unfortunately for him, there were only fields of flowers in the landscape. "I think we'll have a better chance of finding her by the windmill- that's where I saw the last few times."

"And just how many times are you talking about?" I demanded. I can't believe how bothered I was by that.

"A couple."

"How many, Adrian?"

"Several."

"Spill it. Now."

"A few times."

"Are you trying to yank on my chain because the chain is broken and the only thing that's keeping me from killing you is Roxanne's dream world, where I assume murder isn't part of reality," I said out of sheer frustration.

"I might be, but not on purpose."

"Yeah right," I muttered under my breath.

Adrian and I walked about two miles before reaching the windmill. It was an old-fashion one, with glossy black and gray wood panels and a small garden flourishing with greens by the base of a tall willow tree. As we got closer and a better view of the windmill, it looked like there was a small cottage attached to the back. Yeah, this was definitely the countryside. There was a hushed sound of a soft weeping came from inside the cottage. Adrian and I moved closer and ducked underneath the window ledge.  
"This is what I've dreamed about: Rose Hathaway and I out spying."

"Shut up! She'll hear us," I said, too excited and anxious to give a damn about 'us spying'.

Roxanne seemed to be murmuring sadly to herself; her voice was hard to hear even with the extra-sharp hearing from my vampire power. I could only make out the words, 'I'm sorry' over and over again. I glanced at Adrian, who was playing with my hair.

"Is this what you mean?"

"Yeah. Except last time I actually saw her apologizing to Cameron. It was pretty eerie to watch."

"Did he really look like you?" Two Adrians? That's something I don't get to see everyday.

Adrian shrugged. "I can see some resemblance, but me being the real Adrian… besides, he looked too clean."

I raised an eyebrow. "Too clean?"

"No cigarette or alcohol scent."

'Then I might just like him."

Adrian's eyes grew wide. "Does this mean that if I don't smoke any more cigarettes or drink anymore beers, you'll like me?"

"Maybe."

"Wow. I'm amazed at how simple you are behind all that perpetual murderous intent."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "I said maybe. I didn't say yes."

"But you didn't say no."

"But I will if you keep it up."

Adrian eyed me playfully and let it drop. He rested his hand on top of mine, but I was too intrigued by Roxanne's confession to worry about it.

_Please forgive me_. Roxanne's voice was still soft but more audible. _I'm so sorry. Deceiving everyone is such a painful thing I don't know if I can do this anymore. I can't believe I gave in. That should've been our first night._

I gulped. Do I really want to hear more? Unconsciously, my gaze brought my eyes to Adrian, who gazed back at me. Adrian was probably imagining something explicit judging from the mischievous look he wore. I focused back at listening to Roxanne, trying to ignore Adrian's actions.

_Oh Cameron, we were so close in our relationship-_ Adrian's hand moved to my bare leg- _you and I could've really been together-_ the hand slid up my calf and over my knee- _it would've been an impossible dream come true, a miracle-_ fingers played at the edge of my skirt- _but that miracle pried us apart- _they slid up my thigh-_ we really are star-crossed lovers, aren't we? I lost it and now you're gone-_ the hand froze. Adrian and I were thinking the same thing. My heart pounded against my chest. What happened to Roxanne that forced or somehow made her kill Cameron?

I hoped you enjoyed this part! Please review this for reviews are really inspirational! I don't own Vampire Academy- that belongs to Richelle Mead.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

_My dearest, Cameron, I wish to commit self-mutilation. Please… send me a sign if you approve. I'll be waiting for your reply two days from midnight at the usual place._

Roxanne's freaky speech sent chills down my spine. Adrian seemed to have stopped his hands from trying his murder. Four days? Receiving a sign from the dead? The usual place? My head hurt from trying to make sense of the bullshit coming out of Roxanne.

"How is she going to communicate with the dead?" Adrian said grimly.

I shrugged. "Maybe Cameron isn't really dead."

"Then why does she grieve for him?"

Good point. But hell, _Adrian Ivashkov_ proved _me_ wrong.

Then suddenly, I woke up. The damn sunlight freaking woke me up from this really good chance to see Roxanne's intentions. If Roxanne murdered someone, it'll be the sun's fault. Yeah… not likely. Still, I did missed a pretty good chance to find out more about her. And yet, I still found out that she was attracted to Adrian because of his resemblance to Cameron; this fact kind of strangely made me happy. Maybe she'd been lying about her family being friends with the queen to cover up for her aggressive behavior towards Adrian. Maybe she hugged Adrian tightly because she missed Cameron. I mean wouldn't you want to hug your guy (or at least one who looks like him) when he was taken by death from you? I sat up and peered over at Christian's bed.

Holy Shit. This was definitely uncalled for. Wouldn't you hate to wake up first thing in the morning to find your roommate making out with his girlfriend with enough passion to make you puke in disgust? I wondered how it was the sunlight and not the kissing sounds or the psychic bond sightings that woke me up. I fell back into my bed of blankets and covered my head with my pillow and quilt. Damn, _now_ the psychic bond starts taking effect? This was really disturbing. I turned around and tried to push the vision out of my head. I could feel Christian's hot breath on my neck. _Get out, Rose, _I thought. Fingers slid threw my hair and pulled my head closer. _Rose, you have your own body._ The fingers slid down my blouse. _I am_ _Rosemarie Hathaway._ More fingers started to slowly unbutton my blouse. _I am Rosemarie Hathaway. I am Rosemarie Hathaway. I am Rosemarie Hathaway!!_ The blouse came off and fingers searched for my bra clasp. _Jesus fucking Christ!!_ I felt the soft _thump _as the bra landed on me. I was at my limits.

"Do you guys freaking _mind_?!" I shouted under my blanket and pillow. Neither Lissa nor Christian seemed to have heard me. Christian's shirt also landed on top of me. Now I was beyond my limits. "Goddamn it!!" I screamed as I sat up. This time, Lissa and Christian broke apart in surprise. I was too pissed off to look away.

"Sorry, we didn't want to disturb your sleeping," Lissa said, blushing crimson with embarrassment as she retrieved her clothes.

I tapped my head impatiently. "Psychic bond, remember?"

"Lissa, let's go." Christian didn't really notice my annoyance towards him. He probably only wanted to continue.

Lissa quickly buttoned her blouse and followed him out the door with a look of apology as she looked behind her at me. I closed my eyes and got out of bed. I needed to see Adrian right away.

I couldn't concentrate on any of my classes today, distracted by last night's dream. Three things confused me: how did Adrian and I get into Roxanne's dream, can Roxanne talk with the dead, and where's the _usual place_? Another question also distracted my mind: did Roxanne kill that Strigoi at Spokane with spirit or some other unknown method? My thoughts swam around my head as I began my guardian lessons. After class, I finally found Adrian, who was studying from an atlas and an encyclopedia. I walked over to him.

Adrian looked up from his books. "Hey, little dhampir."

"What are you doing?"

"Studying."

"I've never heard or seen anything more unbelievable."

Adrian pretended to be hurt. "Hey, play nice."

"Anyway, why are you _studying_?"

Adrian tilted the atlas towards me so that I could see the map.

I raised my eyebrow. "Europe?"

"Yeah. The place from last night looked like it was somewhere in Europe."

So my guess about the place's relative location was right.

"Which countries seem the most likely?" Let's see just how similar our thoughts are.

Adrian thought about it for a few seconds, glancing back and forth from the atlas to the encyclopedia. "Countries that are close to the ocean."

"Adrian, most of Europe borders the ocean." I'm still the smart one here.

"I know, but I can't quite pinpoint the exact countries."

I thought for a moment on whether I should tell him about my own guesses. Hell, why not? "I'm pretty sure the place was somewhere in Scandinavia."

"What makes you say so?"

"Well, it looked like a place in Scandinavia I studied before."

"I knew there was more to Rose than what meets the eye. Or in your case, what meets the fists," Adrian chuckled.

I ignored him. I was too deep in thought to care about his wiseass cracks. "What are going to do about Roxanne's 'meeting' with Cameron?"

Adrian looked troubled, but then the light bulb clicked. "Rose, do you like Scandinavia?"

I was both startled and confused by his question. I sighed and finally said, "Well, it's certainly better than here."

"Sounds like a plan. Pack some clothes- we don't have much time this time for a tailor to make your dress- and meet you in my room tonight at ten."

I gaped at him thinking just how many light years he was from the sane line. But then again, he's Adrian _Ivashkov_ and he could probably fly us over to Europe in his private plane or something and get me out of school without giving me any penalties. A trip to Scandinavia with Adrian… oh hell yeah….

When I finished my guardian classes, I hurried back to Christian's to pack up some clothes. Lissa spotted me packing up and her powerful emotions poured into me. I felt really guilty. How could I leave Lissa and Christian, my assigned person? I mentally debated on whether to Lissa or not. Might as well tell her.

"Lissa, I'm leaving," I said straightforwardly. The sooner I get this over with, the better. Still I hate to hurt Lissa. And in this case, maybe even Christian, as well.

"I can see that. What's going on, Rose?" Lissa looked so concern that the guilt was almost painful.

I explained everything to Lissa and winced when I saw her bewildered expression.

"You're going to Scandinavia with _Adrian_ to _spy_ on Roxanne?"

"I'm not going to really _spy _on her!" I protested.

"Then what are you guys doing?" Lissa folded her arms across her chest.

"We are just there to make sure the Roxanne's not going to destroy the world."

"Are you sure about this, Rose? Why not let the guardians handle this?"

"Because the stupid guardians will never believe a single freaking word I say."

"Try asking Dimitri," Lissa said.

"He's one of _those_ guardians," I countered, making sure Lissa understood what I meant.

"Fine. But I don't know anything about this." Lissa's snappy words surprised me.

I whispered, "Thank you, Lissa- for letting me go. We'll keep in touch."

Lissa's expression softened. "Promise me you'll come back in at one piece."

"I promise." I gave Lissa a hug and went back to packing.

At ten o'clock sharp, I knocked quickly on Adrian's door. He answered immediately and pulled me inside.

"Wow, you're right on time."

I raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me for being the type to not usually be on time."

"No… I thought you'd hesitate because of Vasilisa…. Seeing how you guys are practically sisters." Adrian handed me a glass of some creamy-looking stuff.

"Uh… sketchy much?"

"It's just white hot chocolate. Actually, its not just white hot chocolate," Adrian said as he poured himself a glass. "It comes from the finest organic coca beans handpicked from Madagascar. Then, I added some white chocolate from Scandinavia- you know, since we're going there." A sheepish grin stretched across his face. Adrian looked really tired for some reason.

I thought he'd be excited and stuff since he finally got his time with me. Instead, there were dark circles around his eyes- ones I didn't notice this morning- and his hair was slightly matted. Then, I noticed that there was no alcohol or clove cigarette scent.

"Is spirit taking its toll on you?" I really hoped Adrian was going to be okay enough not to faint on the trip because he looks like the living dead.

Adrian gave me sleepy look and slowly nodded his head. "I wanted to smell favorable to you before the trip."

"Damn it, that's flattering, but you're so…dead you look worse than a Strigoi." My jokes just might lift Adrian's tiredness.

It worked. Kind of. Adrian's melodious and yet, tired laugh rang through the room.

"We should be going. The pilot's waiting."

"Where's the airport?"

"About four miles from here- it's a small, private airport."

Private…of course. No surprise there.

We stayed in Adrian's house for a few more minutes after we finished our drinks and left silently into the dark. Tonight was the night of the new moon so I had a pretty hard time keeping up with Adrian even though he held my hand as we flitted through the dense forest. A chauffeur who was waiting at a small airplane took our suitcases and opened the door to the place. I climbed in quickly and sat down on one of the squashy leather seats.

"How long's the flight going to take?"

"About thirty minutes."

"What airport are we stopping at?"

Adrian smiled slyly. "Don't think I'm letting you off so easily"

I gave him my man-eating smile and said, "Whatever do you mean, Adrian?"

Adrian turned to me and said softly, "That's not playing fair, Rose. I'm doing this for you so please don't run away and try on your own."

Damn. He figured it out. I was planning to make my great escape right after I get off the plane. "I won't _try_ on my own. I'll do it on my own."

Adrian chuckled, "Rose, my dear, you're so incredibly ambitious." He scooted over a seat and sat next to me. "But sometimes, let's tone it down a bit." I stared into those marvelous emerald eyes of him, so deep and tender. Drowning into an ocean had never felt so… wonderful…enticing…and passionate?

"Adrian, what the hell!" I can't believe his stupid compulsion got me again.

"Sorry," Adrian mused, not really sounding sorry at all. He was trying to stifle back a laugh.

As Adrian said, we arrived at another small airport with a larger plane waiting for us in thirty minutes. It was about eleven-thirty and I was getting pretty tired. Just like on the previous plane, Adrian and I were the only passengers on board this luxurious plane besides the many attendants. The flight attendant on this place prepared cocktails and various French desserts; I was too tired to try them out. Adrian, on the other hand, was sipping on a mint mojito and eating an éclair. I could use a peach daiquiri myself with some crepes, but yeah, I was too tired. Instead, I tried to drone out the soft humming of the plane to catch some sleep. This flight was scheduled to take about eleven hours to an airport in Copenhagen, Denmark. I suppose Denmark was in the Scandinavian range. Somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, a warm blanket and a pillow were given to me and I fell asleep for the next three hours. This time, my sleep was without Adrian's usual interruption. I was floating in a dream world- Roxanne's dream world to be more precise. It was the same place, but this time I wasn't materialized- I was like a ghost. Crazy, right? Once again, Roxanne was mourning, but this time, she was praying, too. I could barely make out her words: _Please bring back my love. Cameron didn't deserve to die. I did. It's my fault. Take my spirit instead and bring him back to this world!_ Then I woke up. Adrian was gently stroking my face. I tried to ignore his hand.

"Good afternoon, sleeping beauty."

It was afternoon alright. The sunlight streamed through the window of the plane; I could see Denmark below us. This time the airplane landed at the Copenhagen international airport- a large one compared to the private ones we previously went to. A stretch limo was waiting outside the airport. I balked.

"The luxury's nice, but is this really necessary?"

"I thought of getting a Mercedes for us, but the back seat isn't large enough." Adrian smiled mischievously.

"_Whatever_ do you mean?" I could only just imagine.

"Just in case you wanted to get rough we could-"

"The freaking question was rhetorical." I flashed a glare at him. Adrian smiled contently back at me. Screw you, Adrian.

When we got to our hotel, the Copenhagen Hilton Hotel, a guy took our suitcases away. Another guy dropped a pair of keys into Adrian's hands. I held out my hand, too. The guy looked at me funny. I lightly cleared my throat. Adrian looked at me and burst into laughter. I stared at him, too shocked to speak.

"You ordered _one_ room? For the _two_ of us?"

"Yep."

"Are you crazy?!"

"Yep."

Son of a bitch. I stomped all the way to our room and grabbed the phone of the wall. I called room service. A few minutes later, a girl came in and handed me a roll of duct tape. I ripped off a huge chunk of duct tape and stuck it across the room.

"This is my portion of the goddamn room," I growled. "That's yours." My finger shook as I pointed to the other side of the room.

Adrian swiftly tore the tape of the floor. "I hate to object against the sexy way you pout, but we're here for another reason besides spending time together."

I opened my mouth to protest, but stopped. Adrian got me there. He had a point. Sighing, I set my suitcase on a chair and collapsed on the bed. I'll unpack later. Right now, I'll need some more dreamless sleep. Sometime after I fell asleep, Adrian visited my dream again. This time it was at his grandmother's summery garden. Good. No Roxanne this time. I sigh happily. The Dragomir cross hung in its usual place on my wrist and I was wearing a white frilly sundress- definitely Adrian's pick.

"Adrian, what could possibly so important that you have to tell me through a dream than just wake me up in person?"

Adrian grinned. "I didn't want to disturb you, my sleeping beauty."

"Well, disturb me anyways because I need to wake up and I don't know how to, as backwards as that sounds."

"Wait, since we're here, why not appreciate the sun?"

"I'm a dhampir, remember? I can go out into the sun regardless of my half-vampire blood."

Adrian shrugged. "It's just nice when I also get to be out in the sun with you."

I looked at him dubiously. "This is going to sound funny, but why are you so in love with me?"

"You're a very charming person." Love didn't seem to strike Adrian as a serious thing.

"So I've been told," I noted.

"You're… different. Interesting. And of course, beautiful."

"Does this have anything to do with the fact that I'm shadow-kissed?"

Adrian looked thoughtful. "Perhaps. It certainly contributes to my interest in you, but that's not the point."

"What is the point?"

Adrian leaned in. I backed up against the willow tree.

"The point is that I love you. Isn't that enough?" Adrian's tone was startling soft.

"I guess." My lips moved subconsciously.

Then, Adrian's body began to slowly fade with the garden. The colorfulness of the vibrant red rose garden began to dim. Adrian extended out his hand for me.

"Hold on to my hand, Rose. It'll be alright."

I believed him and reached for Adrian but couldn't touch him. Our fingers grazed, but made no solid contact. Then, Adrian's body completely faded away, leaving me in a dark world for nothingness. I frantically screamed for him and almost started to cry from fear. The fear that drove me insane. The fear that drove me past insanity. The fear that I thought didn't exist in reality. The fear of Adrian leaving me. I sank to my knees in the darkness, covering my head with my arms. I started to shake uncontrollably and unconsciously. Suddenly, Roxanne stood towering over me, her eyes colder than glacial ice and her fists so rigid her knuckles were white. Confusion came upon me. Why was Roxanne in Adrian and my dream? Hell, why was she so freaking mad looking?

"Die, Rose. Just die," said Roxanne, her voice was a deadly whisper.

I cringed from her words; strangely, her words felt like daggers through my body. Her eyes grew sorrowful and distant as she held one last look at me and disappeared, leaving me again in the darkness.

"Sorry about that." A voice called in the distance. "That was not my intension to scare you like that," the voice continued.

"What are you talking about? Let me sleep." My voice was quiet, barely a whisper and raspy thick with sleep.

"I don't know what happened back there. I…I… it's as if I lost control of my own dream."

The nightmare was over. Something had occurred to me as I thought this over. I knew that because Adrian was a spirit user, I was attracted to him like the way I was attracted naturally to Lissa. But something confused me: was it more than that? Did I _love_ Adrian? The answer wasn't a flat out no… but wasn't exactly a yes. I shook my head and fell back on my pillow. What the hell was wrong with my head? I opened my eyes. Adrian was sitting on the other bed.

"Are you okay? I didn't mean to freak you out."

A hand touched my forehead. I flinched away and my eyes flew open in surprise. "Adrian, what the hell was that?"

He looked hurt by my sudden act of rejection; I touched his hand with mine to ease him up a bit.

"That was…I'm not sure. I mean I'm sure that was our dream, but I don't know how Roxanne got there."

My intuition flared. "Can you tell if she's a spirit user?"

"No," Adrian said in a flat voice, probably harboring thoughts about the dream.

"I think we should confront her."

Adrian looked at me like I was crazy. That was the first solid expression I seen him do for a while. "Wouldn't it be nice if all three of us had a nice little discussion about people's dreams in a nicely coincidental location of Copenhagen?"

"Obviously, Roxanne would suspect us of some sort of treachery against her."

"Exactly."

"So what are we going to do now? We'll never find her!" I groaned as I estimated the size of Scandinavia.

"My little dhampir, have you forgotten a little something important?" Adrian sounded sincere, not like he was mocking me and questioning my intelligence.

"Uh," I said as I racked my brains for something to say. "How about the fact that by this time back at the Academy, Kirova would've already assigned a new student in my place as Christian's guardian, since I'd be considered 'kicked out' by now."

Adrian chuckled tiredly. "That's probably true, but I was thinking more like the many connections of the Ivashkov family."

Of course. I guess in times like this having a rich guy by your side is quite useful.

"I knew that. I was just trying to up the depressing vibe that's coming from you."

Adrian stared at me. "Depressing vibe? Care to explain, my dear?"

"Well… for one thing, you're not as uh…flirty as usual."

Strained laughter came from Adrian. "That's true."

"Second, you haven't had a smoke for a long time _and_ you don't reek of alcohol."

"Funny, Rose Hathaway is rather observant."

I threw a duvet at his head. He chuckled, but again, with labor.

"Third, you look literally like shit right now." Adrian really did- for once.

"Yeah, I know." Now even his voice was kind of dead.

I called room service again and asked for a bottle of champagne. I have to help him recover somehow. The smell of champagne seemed more appealing and pleasant than clove cigarettes, not that champagne smelled good. It was after the same lady, who came up with an expensive-looking bottle of French champagne, that I realized that this lady was probably assigned to tend to the Ivashkov; she wore designer-looking clothes with a pendant engraved with the Ivashkov family's symbol. After she left, I poured Adrian a large glass of champagne.

"Here. Drink," I ordered.

Adrian looked confused. "Feeling alright, Rose?"

"I'm fine. Drink," I repeated firmly.

Sighing, Adrian downed the thing in one gulp and set the crystal goblet down. To my dismay, he still looked like shit.

"Adrian, spill. What's going on?"

"Anemia?" Questioning yourself is not a good sign.

"When was the last time you fed?"

"About a few days ago." His words were slurred, and for once not from alcohol.

"Adrian, I was clearly mistaken when I said you were beyond insane." Not good. I could hear the sound of his teeth grinding together, fighting for control over hunger. The only question is: is the lady willing to come up on more time for service?

"Adrian, you're meal's coming up in a sec," I said as I reached for the phone again. Just as I finished making the call, Adrian tugged at my shirt.

"Adrian, you're dead on your feet. Go to sleep. Alone." I made sure he understood 'alone' as he was still tugging me.

"Wait… Rose." Uh-huh. He seriously sounded sick. Stupid lady, where was she? And then, he was on me. I felt the force of a pureblood vampire pinning me down as sharp fangs pierced the skin on my neck.

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